_underway%2c_circa_in_November_1944_(BS_90425).jpg) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | French |
| Namesake | Neldon Theo French |
| Builder | Consolidated Steel Corporation,Orange, Texas |
| Laid down | 1 May 1944 |
| Launched | 17 June 1944 |
| Commissioned | 9 October 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 29 May 1946 |
| Stricken | 15 May 1972 |
| Fate | Sold for scrapping 20 September 1973 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | John C. Butler-classdestroyer escort |
| Displacement | 1,350long tons (1,372 t) |
| Length | 306 ft (93 m) |
| Beam | 36 ft 8 in (11.18 m) |
| Draft | 9 ft 5 in (2.87 m) |
| Propulsion | 2 boilers, 2 geared turbine engines, 12,000 shp (8,900 kW); 2 propellers |
| Speed | 24 kn (44 km/h) |
| Range | 6,000 nmi (11,000 km) at 12 kn (22 km/h) |
| Complement | 14 officers, 201 enlisted |
| Armament |
|
USSFrench (DE-367) was aJohn C. Butler-classdestroyer escort in service with theUnited States Navy from 1944 to 1946. She was scrapped in 1973. The ship was named in honor of Neldon Theo French who was awarded theNavy Cross for his actions during theGuadalcanal Campaign.
Neldon Theo French was born on 25 July 1918 inBenton County, Tennessee. He enlisted in theUnited States Marine Corps on 9 September 1940. He was killed in action on 9 October 1942 during theGuadalcanal Campaign. Corporal French was posthumously awarded theNavy Cross for his heroism in fighting to his death in a defensive post on theMatanikau River and shared in thePresidential Unit Citation awarded his division for its performance in the initial landings on Guadalcanal.
French waslaunched on 17 June 1944 byConsolidated Steel Corp. at their yard inOrange, Texas, sponsored by Mrs. Alma M. French, mother of Corporal French. The vessel wascommissioned on 9 October 1944.
French arrived atSan Diego, California, 2 January 1945 for escort duty in the Pacific Ocean, ranging primarily betweenUlithi andEniwetok through April. Other ports of call during this period werePearl Harbor,Kossol Roads,Saipan, andIwo Jima. Arriving in Kossol Roads 6 May,French was assigned to patrol and air-sea rescue duty, as well as local screening. On 5 June she bombarded enemy-heldMalakal andArakabesan Islands, then leftPeleliu to return to escort duty out of Ulithi. She called atOkinawa on this assignment on 8 and 9 July.
From 24 to 27 July 1945,French was in charge of rescue operations on a groundedU.S. Armyfreighter atHelen Reef off thePalaus. She lightened the grounded ship by removing some of her cargo so that thetugboatUSS Tonkawa could get the freighter off. Escorting the tug and her tow,French returned toHollandia 31 July, then sailed back toPeleliu. Between 4 and 7 August she took part in the search for survivors of thecruiserUSS Indianapolis which had been torpedoed and sunk, before returning to Peleliu.
On 26 August 1945,French arrived atOkinawa, from which she sailed 9 September to cover landings in Japan. After voyaging toGuam to bring occupation troops to Japan, she screenedaircraft carriers flying patrols over Japan until 2 January 1946 when she sailed for theU.S. West Coast.
French wasdecommissioned and placed in reserve atSan Diego, California, 29 May 1946. On 15 May 1972 she was struck from theNavy list and, on 20 September 1973, she was sold for scrapping.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
